Chapter 25

I sat in the chair and stared at my unlikely captor for about 10 minutes. That is about the length of my attention span. Ask anybody. He didn't look like a kidnapper. He was really plain – just unremarkable. His eyes were tired with big bags underneath. He looked about 50 or so, but I imagine he's a little younger than that.

Finally, I said, "Sir…um, hey…, hi there. Uh, can we talk? I mean, I'm on a sort of a schedule here. Maybe we can figure all this out soon and we can get this all straightened out. I mean, I have to go back home tomorrow. I have a doctor's appointment, you know, for this?" I pointed at my bulging tummy. "I don't plan on being pregnant for a whole lot longer, and I'll bet you aren't planning to keep me very long, right – otherwise, you know, we might need a bigger room – you know, one with a nursery?" I was smiling. I know I must have sounded like an idiot, but I knew I needed to get this show on the road. This was my last chance to see Joe before the baby came and we had not at ALL done everything I had planned to do before giving birth. I mean, I still had plans – you know. Not all sexual plans…Okay, mostly sexual plans – but not ALL sexual plans. We still needed to talk about the actual event – the baby coming. I needed to tell him what he would need to know for the big delivery day. I don't think I know what he needs to know, but he definitely needs to know some things that day.

"Can I take off this sheet?" Now that the gag was gone, it was just sort of hanging around my neck and it was all wet.

"Oh, sure. I'm sorry." He stood and came to help me out of the sheet. "I forgot about it. Oh, wow, you've grown – I mean the baby's grown since I saw you last."

"When did you see me last?" I asked.

"Oh, a couple of weeks ago, I guess. You were getting home and I was waiting in your backyard." He was fiddling with his hands and looking down, like he was embarrassed.

"Why have you been watching me?" I asked.

"Well, I need to find Morelli. I've met him a few times and never liked him, but then I thought he was a pretty good guy when I saw him at your wedding. He seemed to really be in love with you. Then when I heard he had left, you know, I couldn't believe he had really ditched you. So, I thought if I watched you, I could figure out where he was, maybe."

"You were at our wedding?" I was more than surprised. I was shocked. I'm sure my eyes were bulging out of my head. I swear I didn't remember this guy from that day. There were a lot of people there, of course.

"Well, I was there, sort of. I mean, not really as a guest. I crashed. I was looking for someone." He wouldn't make eye contact with me. "Okay, I watched from the neighbor's tree."

"Why? Who the heck were you looking for? There were like 250 people there. That's like everyone I've ever met in my life plus 100 people."

He just looked so sad. The poor guy looked like his heart was breaking. He drew in a deep, shaky breath. "I need some more time to think. I don't know how much I should tell you. It's hard for me to talk about it."

"Oh, okay," I said carefully, "you know, since you kidnapped me, you have to let Joe know you have me. That's the rule. You can't hold me without telling him you have me. It's … illegal."

He stared at me for a minute. "DO YOU THINK I'M STUPID OR SOMETHING? I KNOW I HAVE TO LET HIM KNOW. I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO TELL HIM. QUIT PRESSURING ME!" He didn't say it loudly – more like very deliberately.

"Okay, Okay, don't get all upset. You know, if you'd tell me what this is all about, I may be able to help you figure it out. I'm pretty good at solving problems," and maybe if I can get the guy talking I can get out of here faster.

"I don't know where to start. See, well, I have a couple of things I need Joe's help with, but when we see each other we always fight."

"Oh, I see. Well, what do you fight about? Joe's usually pretty reasonable, so he must have a reason to be upset with you."

"Yeah. I mean, I've had some run-ins with the law. I'm not a bad person; I'm just sort of susceptible to negative influences. That's what my parole officer says, anyway. I guess that's where Joe and I go our different ways. He thinks I should be in jail, and I disagree," he still was hanging his head and looking very pitiful.

"Maybe if we just talk to Joe, you know, I'll arrange a meeting and then we can all sit down and talk." And then he can arrest you for kidnapping me and then he and I can go on with our lives.

"Oh, I don't think that will work, especially not now that I grabbed you and brought you here. He'll make a big deal out of it and try to make it sound all sinister and everything. I don't know why he hates me so much."

I chose not to comment, but I did feel sorry for the guy.

He looked at me and said, "Did you get anything to eat? Are you hungry? I am."

"Yeah, I'm hungry, too. I need to eat." I didn't tell him that we'd just eaten before he picked me up. I glanced at his watch and saw that it was 9:15 p.m. He was blowing my last evening with Joe.

He said, "Okay, here's what I'm going to do. I'll let you stay here so that I don't have to go through the blindfold thing again, but I'm going to handcuff you to the bed so you can't go anywhere. I'm also going to put the gag back on you so you can't yell and get any attention while I'm out."

"Can't we just go on the honor system? I won't yell. Promise."

"I don't know you well enough to go on the honor system. We'll do it my way now and if you prove yourself trustworthy, we'll try it your way tomorrow." Little did he know that I didn't intend to be here tomorrow.

He cuffed and gagged me before leaving to get food. I went right to work. Luckily, he cuffed me in front of my body. I could get my phone out of my pocket, but I couldn't get the gag untied. Try as I might, it was useless. I pulled, twisted, and cursed into the gag.

I sat there for a few minutes trying to figure out what else to do. I heard a car drive up outside so I hastily, returned the cell phone to my pocket.

"Okay, I brought you a salad with light dressing. That's what my wife would have wanted. My wife, you know, she loves Morelli. I mean she literally 'loves' Morelli. She says, 'Joey's Magic'." He quoted her in a silly falsetto while waving his hands. He took off the gag, not noticing that it wasn't tied the same way he'd done it. "It's disgusting. I need to know what the hell is so magic about him. What do you think it is?"

He was looking at me like he really expected me to answer. "Huh?" That was my intelligent response.

He unlocked the handcuffs, removed the gag easily, much to my disgust, and motioned for me to move back over to the little table and chairs. I detest salad. Who would eat that for dinner? Since it was my second dinner I thought I could push it around a little and he wouldn't notice. Light dressing – why bother? "How does your wife know Joe?"

"Oh." He sighed loudly. "I guess I'm going to have to tell you who I am so that you can help me think this through. I really don't know what the heck to do. I'm Lou Gilman, Terri's husband." He had ducked his head and said this in a very shaky voice. When he looked up at me, I could see that his eyes were wet. "You know, she still loves him. She left me. I think he knows where she is."

"Omigod. You are Terri's husband? Um, ex-husband, right?"

He looked so hurt. "Yeah, I guess. I didn't want a divorce. We need to work it out. We're made for each other. She just doesn't see it and I have to find her so I can convince her to come home." He looked at me hopefully. "Hey, do you know where she is?"

Not at the moment. She's probably boinking Ranger somewhere right now – with one of them undoubtedly in restraints. "No, I don't. But, you are right. I'm sure Joe does. He can help us find her. I'm sure he'd be happy to talk to you."

"I don't think so. The last time he saw me, I'd moved back in with her and he arrested me. He doesn't think I'm the right guy for her either. It's like everyone is against me."

"No, I'm sure that's not it. Joe just needs time to get to know you. You know? Let's contact him and I'll bet he'll know just what to do."

"Let me sleep on it." Lou had finished eating and was standing up and stretching, like he was ready to go to bed.

"No. We can't do that. I can't stay here with you. I'm a married woman." I had figured out that he wasn't the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, so maybe I could hurry him along this way. "I can't stay here with you. Terri and Joe would both be furious, you know. We can't stay here together. I'm married and you are spoken for. How can you convince Terri that you are serious about getting her back if you are spending the night in a room with another woman?"

His brows were furrowed. He was thinking. I could almost hear the gears turning. "Well, I got two beds. Doesn't that make a difference?"

"Nope. Joe would not understand. If the tables were turned, how would you feel if you thought Terri and Joe were sharing a room?" Heh, heh, heh, little do you know…

"Yeah. You're right. Well, what, do I need to get you your own room?"

"No, let's just move this forward a bit. Let's go back out to the Bed and Breakfast, and talk to Joe tonight. He'll help you and then you can go do whatever it is you need to do." Like meet your new roommate, Bruno.

"I don't know. It's pretty late. He may be mad."

"No, he's a late kind of guy. He won't be mad. Let's just call out there and we'll make sure he's up. There's no phone here. Do you have a cell phone?" I asked. I was speaking really fast, thinking I could get this moving before Lou figured out it wasn't a good idea.

"No. There's a payphone in the motel office. Will you call him? He won't be mad at you, right?"

"Right," and he can have the authorities waiting to pick you up that way, too. I purposefully stood up and strode for the door of the room. The air outside was frigid and snow was falling in crisp tiny flakes.

Lou had to jog a bit to keep up with me as I nearly sprinted for the office. I turned my head around to see how far away from me he was and, of course, slipped on the ice. I didn't fall, but it was close. Lou grabbed me under the arms and held on. "Be careful, Stephanie. I don't want you to get hurt. God forbid something happen to the baby. I love babies. I can't wait to start a family. Terri will be a great mom." Poor Lou was just beaming thinking about Terri being a mom. I wanted to throw up. I felt sorry for him, and I definitely worried about his mental health. Terri would be the worst mom I could imagine – next to me… I was changing my mind about what I wanted to happen to Lou. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy.

We found a telephone book in the office and I tried to call the Bed and Breakfast. Becky, the cheerful proprietor informed me that Joe wasn't there. I hadn't told her who I was because I didn't want to worry her if she knew I'd been kidnapped. I didn't know what to do. I hung up and decided to try my next move.

"Uh, Lou, Joe and I have some friends here in town. I'll bet he's there talking to them. Let me get the number." I looked up the number for the Bernadine hotel where the Morgan's were staying. If I could find them, maybe I could get my point across.

Debbie answered the phone. "Debbie! This is Stephanie Morelli!"

I heard her practically scream for Joe. He must be there with them. She told him it was me. He sounded focused and cautious when he took the phone. "Cupcake?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine. I'm here with Lou Gilman. We want to try to find Joe. Lou's looking for Terri and Joe may know where she is. Is Joe there, Debbie?"

"Okay, Cupcake, you need to know that Lou Gilman has some mental issues. He's normally not dangerous, but he doesn't handle reality all that well."

For some reason, this statement ticked me off. "No shit. Um, I mean, really….hmmm. Well, Lou really wants to talk to Joe. Do you think we should come to the Bernadine to do that?" Lou was looking at me hopefully.

Joe paused, "Yeah. There's a big parking lot around back. We can set up some posts so that we can apprehend him there. Stall for about 15 minutes. We can be ready after that. Tell him to pull around to the back lot and park in the middle. I'll come out of the building. You tell him to stay in the car while you set things up with me. After we get you safely tucked away, we can storm the vehicle."

"No. That's too much." I felt so sorry for poor Lou. He was all excited and was hoping Joe would help him get his wife back so they could start a family. He loved babies, you know.

"What do you mean 'too much'?" Joe knew Lou was listening. He knew I couldn't say much without tipping him off. "Are you saying he's got you booby trapped or something? Will you not be safe if we do it that way?" I could hear panic creeping into his voice. He was remembering when a whacko had strapped a bomb to my body.

"No, that's not it. Everything is fine. I just want to keep it simple." I shot Lou a reassuring smile. "You know, it just shouldn't be a big deal. Just Joe is fine. We don't need anyone else there." I covered up the phone and said to Lou, "Our friends wanted to know if they could help, too."

"Oh, that's nice of them. Do they know Terri?" I shook my head.

I went back to talking to 'Debbie' on the phone, "Anyway, we'll come to the hotel in a few minutes and we'll pull around to the back, where you said Joe would be, by himself."

Joe was gritting his teeth. "Cupcake, has that whacko convinced you that we shouldn't jail him for kidnapping you? Is that what you are trying to say?"

"All he wants is information. Information isn't a big deal. Let's not make it a big deal."

"Cupcake, would it change your mind if I told you that I think he killed Jeri Stephenson? He's not harmless. I don't want you around him a minute longer than you have to be."

"Okay, perfect. Let's go with the first plan," I said cheerfully and hung up the phone.

"Okay, Lou, it's all set. Joe told Debbie he'd be happy to talk to you. See, he's not upset or mad at you. You underestimated him. Let's go back to the room for a few minutes so I can 'freshen up' a little and then we can go to the hotel." Lou looked relieved.

"Thank you so much, Stephanie." With those words Lou flung his arms around me and kissed me on the cheek. He pulled me in close for a hug. I took the opportunity to pat him down a little. I couldn't feel a gun on him. I still felt guilty for ambushing him, but if he killed Jeri, I had to let it happen.